The main reason is that drilling waste primarily affects

The main reason is that drilling waste primarily affects

the sediment ecosystem for which analysis of community responses to natural and man-made perturbations have a very long tradition in marine environmental monitoring. A large number of harmonized techniques have been developed for such studies (Elliott, 1996, Gray, 2000 and Gray et al., 1988). The sessile nature of benthic communities also facilitates repeated studies of the same sites to assess temporal changes and recovery over time. Extensive environmental monitoring both on the NCS and in the Dutch and UK regions of the NS, coupled with the mesocosm and field experiments described earlier, have given a comprehensive and mostly coherent picture of the spatial effects of muds and cuttings on sediment macrofauna community structure and on the rate of community recovery from past OBM and SBM cuttings discharges. Community restitution at previously Everolimus order impacted sites has been complete within 4–10 years (Bakke et al., 2011 and Schaanning and Bakke, 1997). Around older multi-well discharge sites on the NCS the areal extent of the fauna effects has in general been reduced from up to 15 km2 to less than 1 km2 (Bakke et al., 2011). Studies from unimpacted reference sites on the NCS (Renaud et al., 2008) do not indicate that past and present cuttings discharges are causing accumulative or long-lasting effects on the

Apoptosis inhibitor macrofauna structure on a wider scale. A concern still is that one knows little of possible effects on other elements of the benthic ecosystem. Some studies suggest that meiofauna does not respond fundamentally different from macrofauna to cuttings discharges (Montagna and Harper, 1996, Moore et al., 1987 and Netto et al., 2010), but there is very little knowledge on the sensitivity of microfauna, epifauna,

hyperfauna and coral and sponge communities to drilling waste. Feral haddock and cod caught in the NS Tampen region have shown biomarker effects (Balk et al., 2011 and Grøsvik et al., 2010) which may reflect exposure to cuttings when the fish are foraging on the piles, but this may also stem from exposure lambrolizumab to PW. Furthermore, beyond what can be inferred from the functional roles of macrofauna species, there is virtually no information of potential long term effects on population and community functions such as production, reproduction, and trophic interaction. Operational discharges from the offshore industry have created public concern because they represent a very large continuous input of contaminants to the sea from many widely dispersed point sources. Furthermore, it is notoriously difficult to study effects of the discharges on populations (e.g. of commercial fish stocks) and the structure and function of marine ecosystems. This review shows a wealth of studies on the effects of produced water on individuals of important species, and on the effects of drilling waste on benthic communities.

The percentage of specific cytotoxicity was calculated as describ

The percentage of specific cytotoxicity was calculated as described using the formula: (experimental release-spontaneous release)/(maximum release-spontaneous release) × 100 (Pfistershammer et al., 2009). For cytokine measurement supernatants of T cell proliferation assays were collected after 48 h and pooled from triplicate wells. IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-13 were measured in the supernatants using the Luminex System 100 (Luminex, Texas, USA). Two-tailed Student t test was used to assess significance. IMB® SPSS statistics software was used for Box plot and for analysis of variance (ANOVA) in Fig. 2.

mAbs that trigger the T cell receptor complex by interacting with CD3 molecules are widely used to study the activation check details of T cells. We aimed to establish a cellular system that can give “Signal 1” to human T cells. In a first step we generated synthetic retroviral expression

constructs that encode a CD5 leader peptide and a single chain antibody fragment of the anti-human CD3 antibody OKT3 fused to DNA sequences encoding the transmembrane and intracellular domains of human CD28 (CD5L-OKT3-scFv-CD28) or the leaderless human CD14 (CD5L-OKT3-scFv-CD14) molecule (Fig. 1A). These constructs were expressed on the murine thymoma line Bw5147. Their expression was assessed by flow cytometry using an anti-mouse IgG antibody that reacts with the variable regions of the anti-CD3 antibody. Whereas Bw cells expressing the CD5L-OKT3-scFv-CD14 construct displayed high levels of membrane-bound OKT3 antibody fragment on their surface (Bw-aCD3high), the CD5L-OKT3-scFv-CD28 molecule Epacadostat molecular weight was expressed at a much lower density Tolmetin (Bw-aCD3low; Fig. 1A). Single

cell clones that expressed homogeneous levels of membrane-bound anti-CD3 were established from both cell lines. Subsequently, both T cell stimulator cell lines were transduced to express human CD80 (Bw-aCD3high-CD80; Bw-aCD3low-CD80) or treated to express empty retroviral vector (Bw-aCD3high-control, Bw-aCD3low-control; Fig. 1B). In order to assess the T cell stimulatory capacity of these cell lines they were irradiated and co-cultured with purified human T cells. We found that T cell stimulator cells expressing low amounts of membrane-bound anti-CD3 antibody (mb-aCD3) and no human costimulatory molecules did not induce significant proliferation of purified human T cells. The low levels of cellular 3[H]-thymidine incorporation that were measured in these co-cultures are the result of residual uptake by the irradiated T cell stimulator cells since similar incorporation was observed in cultures of irradiated T cell stimulator cells where no human T cells were present. This indicates that the murine thymoma line Bw5147 that was used for the generation of our T cell stimulator cells does not harbour accessory molecules that can costimulate human T cells.

info nih gov/ij/) and expressed as percentage response relative t

info.nih.gov/ij/) and expressed as percentage response relative to vehicle. Osteoclasts were generated from human peripheral blood monocytes taken from healthy volunteers as previously described and with research ethics committee approval [17]. Sterilisation of 6 mm diameter coverslips (Richardson’s of Leicester, Leicester, UK) was performed by baking at 180° for 2 hours. Dentine disks (www.dentinedisks.com) were sonicated and sterilised by washing in 70% ethanol overnight. Venous blood was obtained from healthy volunteers and separated using Histopaque®-1077 (Sigma). The monocyte fraction was collected, washed and then re-suspended in α-MEM Glutamax (Gibco®

DNA Damage inhibitor Invitrogen, Paisley,

UK). An appropriate volume of cell suspension containing 5 × 105 cells was then added to pre-wetted coverslips or dentine disks in a 96-well plate. Cells were incubated for a minimum of 1 hour to allow adherence to the dentine or glass surface. Non-adherent cells were subsequently washed away with α-MEM. Adherent cells were incubated in 100 μL α-MEM Glutamax containing 10% FCS, 100 U/mL penicillin, 100 μg/mL streptomycin (Sigma) (referred to as complete α -MEM) and supplemented with 25 ng/mL M-CSF, 30 ng/mL recombinant CYC202 RANKL (Insight Biotechnology, Wembley, UK) at 37 °C in a humidified atmosphere of 93% air and 7% CO2 for 3 weeks. To determine the effect of osteoclastogenesis metal ion treatments were added from day 3, whilst for effects on mature osteoclast activity metal ion treatments were added after the onset of resorption (typically 14 days). Complete α-MEM containing 25 ng/mL M-CSF, 30 ng/mL RANKL and treatments

was replaced every 2–3 days. Dentine disks were TRAP stained as previously described [18] and [19]. Briefly, the disks were fixed in 10% buffered formalin. Disks were then incubated in pre-warmed Acetate-tartrate buffer (0.1 M Sodium tartrate (Sigma) in 0.2 M Acetate buffer (Sigma), pH 5.2) at 37 °C for 5 min, followed by 30 min incubation at 37 °C in 20 mg/mL Naphthol AS-BI phosphate (Sigma)/dimethylformamide (Fisher Scientific, Loughborough, UK) in acetate-tartrate buffer. The disks were then incubated in acetate-tartrate buffer hexazotised pararosaniline solution. The disks were rinsed Tryptophan synthase in water and counterstained in Gill’s haematoxylin. Resorbing osteoclasts were identified on dentine disks as a TRAP positive cell in or in close proximity to resorption pits and quantified from 8 random fields of view per disk. Resorption lacunae were identified in the same 8 random fields of view per disk and the plan area of resorption was determined by point counting as previously described [20]. All values were expressed as percentage response relative to vehicle. All treatment comparisons were made versus vehicle (0 μM).

This indicates that the change in atmospheric horizontal resoluti

This indicates that the change in atmospheric horizontal resolution also plays an important role, as explained in Hourdin et al. (2012) and also underlined by Marti et al. (2010). Note also that these numbers highlight the fact that CM5_piStart

(and thus also probably CM5_RETRO) is not in full equilibrium, as the intensity of the flow through the Drake Passage in this simulation (109 Sv) slightly differs from what is found in CM5-piCtrl (98 Sv). Finally, intensification of the ACC in CM5_piStart is consistent with strengthening of the density gradient across the Southern Ocean, as described above (Fig. 10), but this does not allow distinguishing causality. On the other hand, it contrasts with the weaker eastward heat transport seen in Fig. 11, demonstrating the importance of meridional temperature gradients and meanders for this heat transport (Sun and Watts, 2002). Downstream of the Drake Passage, the circumpolar SB431542 manufacturer transport of mass is fed www.selleckchem.com/products/AZD0530.html in both simulations by a weak input from the South Atlantic and a stronger one from the Indian Ocean, consistent with inversions from Ganachaud and Wunsch (2000). In both simulations, it thus slightly increases from the Drake Passage to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leewin sections. In the Pacific, the net mass transport is northward at all latitudes. This is again consistent with Ganachaud and Wunsch (2000). Their inversion yields an Indonesian Throughflow of 16 Sv, and the latest long-term

simultaneous measurements within both inflow and outflow passages (INSTANT

2004–2006) estimated a total transport of 14 ± 3 Sv (Sprintall et al., 2009). The intensity of the Indonesian Throughflow in terms of net mass transport in CM5_piStart is lower than these estimates (12.7 Sv Fig. 13), slightly stronger than in CM5_RETRO (12.3 Sv), although the difference is probably not significant. This might be again a consequence from the implementation of the ITF parameterisation developed by Koch-Larrouy et al. (2009) in CM5_piStart. Fig. 14 (left panels) compares the global mean meridional circulation for the years [2200–2291] of each simulation. The major difference lies in intensification by roughly 12 Sv of the Antarctic Bottom Water circulation in the Southern Hemisphere in CM5_piStart as compared to CM5_RETRO. This increase is roughly portioned Nintedanib (BIBF 1120) among the oceanic basins according to their width, as this cell increases by 4 Sv at the southern bottom of the Indian Ocean, 5 Sv in the Pacific and only 3 Sv in the Atlantic (not shown). As seen above for the forced simulations, this intensification is consistent with the evolution of the oceanic component, and in particular the implementation of the kz-tide parameterization. It is associated with notable temperature and more importantly salinity modifications in the Southern Ocean and along the sea floor, as described above. The shallow subtropical cells are very similar in the two simulations, consistent with comparable mean wind stress field and wind stress curl (not shown).

These tumors can be often followed with close clinical and imagin

These tumors can be often followed with close clinical and imaging follow-up. It is important to educate the patient and family regarding potential presenting symptoms. Most SEGAs, even in the presence PR-171 price of ventricular dilatation, do not present acutely because of the insidious growth of the lesion and gradual development of hydrocephalus. The indication for treatment

includes new onset of symptoms or radiological evidence of tumor growth. These patients may be treated surgically or medically in accordance with other factors, as stated previously (Fig 2). Other important factors that must be considered in decision-making include both the age and the cognitive status of the patient. Many TSC patients are significantly developmentally delayed and thus may not be able to convey early or subtle symptoms. SEGAs invasive to neighboring structures such as fornix (especially the dominant one), hypothalamus, basal ganglia, or genu of

internal capsule, have a higher associated surgical morbidity.32 Similarly, large-sized tumors are associated with higher morbidity because of the need for more aggressive tissue retraction and higher bleeding risks. Recurrent tumors may suggest a more invasive nature of the tumor.27 These conditions favor mTORi (Fig 3). Medical treatment is favored as well in the case of multiple tumors, which are often bilateral, and lesion(s) for which gross total resection is unlikely, as residual tumor invariably will regrow (Figure 3 and Figure 4). Not all neurosurgeons have extensive Roxadustat experience with intraventricular tumors in general or SEGAs in particular. mTORi as a single treatment, or as neoadjuvant (before resection) treatment, may shrink the

tumor and increase surgical safety or obviate the need for surgery at all. Contraindication to surgery posed by cardiac, renal, or pulmonary function would balance for mTORi, too.33 Despite their benign nature, cardiac rhabdomyomas may cause arrhythmias and cardiac dysfunction, especially during infancy. Renal and pulmonary dysfunctions are rare but may pose a high surgical-anesthesiological risk, especially in adults. In addition, mTORi Adenosine may offer benefits that can never be expected from a neurosurgical procedure in this population, such as reduction in angiomyolipoma volume, improvement in facial angiofibromas, and improvement in pulmonary function when intercurrent lymphangioleiomyomatosis is present.34, 35 and 36 Recent studies have suggested a beneficial effect on epilepsy as well.26, 37, 38 and 39 Additionally, early treatment with mTORi may alter the natural disease course and prevent the development of TSC-related lesions.40 Thus, when contemplating treatment options in patients with other TSC-related comorbidities that may benefit from mTORi, this should be favored over surgery.

In both cases, much information regarding habitats, ecological st

In both cases, much information regarding habitats, ecological status, and biodiversity should be integrated, and the significance of the area should be assessed on the basis of scientific data and expert opinions. This is discussed further in Target 11. Before the adoption of the Aichi Target, a protocol for identifying ecologically and biologically significant areas (EBSAs) was established by Canada׳s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in 2004 to be used as a tool to promote the selection of marine areas where protection should be enhanced (reviewed in Dunn et al. [11]. In a workshop held in 2004, the DFO developed a

priori criteria to select EBSAs and defined the following 5 criteria for understanding ecosystem structural and functional significance: (1) uniqueness, (2) aggregation, (3) fitness consequences, (4) resilience, and (5) naturalness [12]. In 2008, the 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP9/CBD; DEC/IX/20) adopted the following 7 scientific selleck chemicals llc criteria for identifying EBSAs, which were modified from the DFO׳s criteria to enforce initiation of protection area in open waters and deep-sea

habitats: (1) uniqueness or rarity; (2) special importance for life-history stages of species; (3) importance for threatened, endangered, or declining species and/or habitats; (4) vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, and slow recovery; (5) biological productivity; (6) biological diversity; and (7) naturalness. In 2010, the COP10 noted that application of the EBSA criteria is a scientific and technical exercise, and that it has no obligation to consider MPAs directly. selleck screening library However, areas found to meet the criteria may require enhanced conservation and management measures, which can be achieved through a variety of means, including MPAs and EIA [13]. Six regional workshops on EBSAs convened by the Executive Secretary of the CBD have been held since 2011 and have covered the Western South Pacific, Wider Caribbean and Western Mid-Atlantic, Unoprostone Southern Indian Ocean, Eastern Tropical and Temperate Pacific, North Pacific, and South-Eastern Atlantic

[14]. Following the progress for marine conservation by international policy makers, various scientific communities have also been developing ways to evaluate marine ecosystems on broad spatial scales. For the ecological categorization of marine areas, the Biogeographic Classification of the World׳s Coasts and Shelves, and Marine Ecoregions of the World (MEOW) are used in coastal and marine research [15]. The Global Open Ocean and Deep Seabed (GOODS) biogeographic classification has been established under the ultimate umbrella of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) [16]. Data regarding the presence of species registered in the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) and Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) has greatly increased [17].

The seasonal pattern in Fig 8(a) and (b) also shows that the ASW

The seasonal pattern in Fig. 8(a) and (b) also shows that the ASW and the MWDW both reside for several months beneath the FIS, potentially affecting basal melting far inside

the cavity. The MWDW, entering the cavity at the main sill in Fig. 8(b), is advected along topographic (f/Hf/H) contours further into the cavity, appearing as a warmer bottom layer (green) at the southernmost end of the cross-section in Fig. 8(a), and eventually causes melting of deep ice of Jutulstraumen. The evolution of the ASW, entering in the upper part of the cavity in Fig. 8(a), is shown by the thickened and more stratified layer of cold ISW (magenta) at the southern end in Fig. 8(b). A water mass analysis (not shown) reveals that the buoyant upper this website portion of this ISW layer is formed by surface water which entered the cavity during the previous

summer and has expended its available heat for melting. Thus, our simulations confirm the hypothesis of Hattermann et al. (2012) that ASW can travel far into the ice shelf cavity, after initially being subducted beneath the ice front. An overview of the horizontal current strength and direction is presented in the lower panels of Fig. 8. A dominant feature of the sub-ice shelf circulation is the presence of counter-rotating, topographically constrained flows in the upper and lower water column of the central basin. At depth, the model shows a clockwise flow steered by the bottom topography, while in the upper part of the water column a counter-clockwise flow along ice C59 wnt draft contours is observed. We find that the different circulation patterns in the upper and lower parts of the cavity are a direct result of the enhanced stratification due to the presence of ASW. This can be seen by comparing the results from the ANN-100 experiment (Fig. 8(c) and (e)) to the circulation in the initial simulation (Fig. 8(d) and

(f)), which uses the WIN-100 forcing where no ASW is included in the model. In contrast to the vertically sheared currents described Pembrolizumab molecular weight above, the constant winter scenario shows a narrow but fast-flowing, topographically steered barotropic jet, with much larger current speeds in the upper part of the water column than observed in the ANN-100 experiment. Also the seasonal variability in the ANN-100 experiment (not shown) reveals stronger and more barotropic sub-shelf currents near the ice base during late winter and spring when the upper ocean stratification is weak. The analysis of the ANN-100 experiment thus, reveals several effects of ASW on the cavity ventilation and associated basal melting. In particular, the pronounced seasonality of the MWDW inflow at depth, which occurs in the absence of any variability of the wind forcing, is an interesting result implying a direct link between upper ocean hydrographic conditions and the deep ocean heat fluxes. In fact, without ASW in the model, no MWDW enters the cavity, as can be seen from the last six months of the constant winter initial simulation in Fig. 5(a).

For each individual participant, single-trial difference waves (B

For each individual participant, single-trial difference waves (Bishop & Hardiman, 2010) at electrode PZ were created by subtracting the mean (onset-locked) ERP of control sentence hyponyms from each individual semantic or morphosyntactic violation trial. Note that even though control sentences were Osimertinib ic50 also responded to, there, participants had to withhold responses until the second noun and therefore, only 50% of control hyponyms were immediately

followed by a response. As noted in Footnote 1, all scripts for data analysis have been uploaded to a public repository and can be accessed at https://github.com/jona-sassenhagen/Charybdis. ERPs were plotted using ERPLAB. The difference between mean ERP amplitude in syntactic and semantic violation trials in the P600 time window (500–1000 ms) at electrode PZ was submitted to a paired, selleck chemicals llc two-tailed t-test, which indicated that mean amplitude was higher (i.e. more positive) for syntactic violations (t(19) = 3; p = 0.006; 95% CI = 0.3–1.5).

All further analyses were conducted on difference trials at electrode PZ. RT- sorted ERPimages provide a straightforward method for investigating RT alignment (Jung et al., 2001). In ERPimages, multiple event-locked EEG epochs (trials) are stacked horizontally as colour-coded lines, showing time on the x axis and trial number on the y axis, with colour indicating time-trial point potential. After visual smoothing, this provides the Fluorometholone Acetate same information as an ERP: horizontal red lines, indicating potential mean-positive windows, correlate with positive ERP peaks, blue lines correlate with negative peaks. ERPimages can be sorted by various measures, especially event latencies. Time-locking to stimulus onset and sorting by RT, stimulus-aligned components appear as horizontal lines parallel to onset, RT-aligned components diagonal/sigmoidal, parallel to RT. Since no single standard method for quantifying RT alignment has been established, we employed three different methods that have all been previously shown to indicate RT-alignment of the P3: latency estimation of RT bin,

Woody filter estimation of single-trial latencies allowing single-trial correlations, and inter-trial phase coherence of RT- versus onset-aligned data. This conceptually simple, transparent and popular method (Marathe et al., 2013, Poli et al., 2010 and Roth et al., 1978) has repeatedly shown P3 latency to correlate with RT. It comprises binning individual subjects’ trials by RT quartile, estimating the latency of ERP components per bin, and analysing if latency increases with bin rank. Following standard procedures (Kiesel et al., 2008, Luck, 2005 and Ulrich and Miller, 2001), we excluded the top and bottom 2.5% of trials for each subject, binned by individual subject RT quartile, set all negative values to zero to avoid contributions from the N400, constructed jackknife averages and estimated the 33% fractional latency of the area under the positive curve.

Microglia are derived from hematopoietic stem cells in bone marro

Microglia are derived from hematopoietic stem cells in bone marrow. Some of these stem cells differentiate as monocytes and further differentiate as microglia in the brain (Ritter et al., 2006). Pb is sequestered in bone marrow. Studies are needed to examine whether Pb in bone marrow disrupts critical replenishment of the hematopoietic daughter cell pool, thus reducing the migration of adequate progenitor cell numbers to the brain. Finally, reduced numbers of IBA-1 labeled microglia may suggest that early chronic Pb exposure resulted in direct destruction of microglia. Astrocytes are

typically noted to be the brain’s “lead-sink.” The primary role of microglia however is to scavenge the AZD6244 mouse brain for debris; further studies are needed to examine whether click here microglia are destroyed by scavenged Pb particles. Very recent studies have illuminated the critical role of microglia in

brain development (Paolicelli et al., 2011). Additional studies are needed to examine whether pruning abnormalities are evident in mice with early chronic Pb exposure, and whether reduced numbers of functional microglia in lead exposed animals compromises the neuroimmune response system. Given the potential neurodegenerative effects of disrupted neuroimmune function, we also examined DG volume. As compared with controls, DG volume in both exposure groups was significantly decreased, and exposure groups did not differ significantly. Because both exposure groups received chronic dosing, the lack of difference between low and higher exposure groups with regard to DG volume suggested that the chronicity of exposure may have had more neuropathological significance than the amount of Pb to which the mice were exposed. Studies are needed to compare DG volume differences in cases of chronic versus acute exposure, to test how chronicity of

exposure influences the effects of early chronic Pb exposure on brain structure volume. Reduced DG volume could suggest either developmental delay of structure volume, or tissue deterioration in Pb-exposed animals. The lack of difference between low and higher Pb exposure groups suggested that whatever qualitative differences may exist between early chronic Pb exposure levels, Adenosine triphosphate delay and/or deteriorative effects on development of dentate gyrus volume are not distinguishable in animals with low and higher exposures. We also examined the association between microglia number and DG volume, and regression analysis suggested that microglia number accounted for only a small amount of variation in DG volume, thus the volumetric differences are likely attributable to other sources, for example, disrupted integrity and/or numbers of other types of glia and/or neurons. Astrocytes are functionally linked to microglia (Section 1) and are far more abundant than microglia.

, 2011) The simulations that use these adaptive mesh configurati

, 2011). The simulations that use these adaptive mesh configurations are denoted M∞M∞-const for constant solution field weights and M∞M∞-var for spatially varying solution field weights. For MRMR, simulations are run with weights of 0.1, 0.05 GSK J4 and 0.01 for temperature, horizontal velocity and vertical velocity. These correspond to a 10%, 5% and 1% bound for the relative interpolation error. In order to avoid division by zero fmin=1×10-5,fmin=1×10-5, Eq. (8). This value determines the minimum value of the fields that will scale the metric and is selected to allow a wide range for the velocity and temperature

fields. These combinations are summarised in Table 4 and simulations that use these adaptive mesh configurations are denoted MRMR-loose, MRMR-mid and MRMR-tight. For M2M2, three sets of solution field weights are tested. The first set, M2M2-loose, selleck inhibitor reflects the values used in the simulations with M∞M∞, with the ratio of ∊u∊u to ∊T∊T remaining similar. Qualitative observation of simulation M2M2-loose shows a coarse mesh and a diffusive solution. This motivates the formation of a second set of solution

field weights, M2M2-mid, with a reduction in size of ∊u,∊v∊u,∊v and ∊T∊T. Finally, analysis of the background potential energy and Froude number diagnostics for the first two sets motivates the testing of a third set, M2M2-tight, with further reductions in the solution field weights. In this third set, the vertical velocity field weight is reduced in order to determine

if an increase in resolution can be obtained at the free-slip boundary and, hence, an improvement in the free-slip Froude number (cf. Hiester et al., 2011). The temperature weight is also halved for t/Tb>1.76t/Tb>1.76 to determine whether this leads to a further reduction in the diapycnal mixing at later times. Pyruvate dehydrogenase lipoamide kinase isozyme 1 These combinations are summarised in Table 5. In general, the number of vertices in the mesh will be taken as a gauge of the computational demand associated with a simulation. It is considered an appropriate measure when comparing the fixed and adaptive mesh Fluidity-ICOM simulations. The number of vertices is a useful measure of computational demand as it is machine independent and also gives an indication of the size of the problem. This does not account for the model scaling, either with the number of vertices in serial or the number of processors (and the number of vertices) in parallel. The run time of the simulation presents a measure of computational demand which incorporates these effects and offers a complementary measure to the number of vertices but is machine dependent and is not pursued here.1 The cost of the mesh adapt must also be considered.